by Adam Burns
Daily Cougar StaffThe scoreboard said 25-24 offense, but throughout the day, it was the defense that got the best of their teammates in the Red and White intrasquad football game Saturday at Robertson Stadium.
"It was not a good day overall offensively," head coach Kim Helton said. "It was a good day for the defense."
The offensive Red team was outscored early 4-0 on defensive stops. The defense led by as much as 17-6 before the offense started to eat into the lead with a Sebastian Villarreal field goal, one of his three on the Cougars on the day.
"I thought we dropped some passes early," Helton said. "The play of the secondary was good."
The secondary covered the receivers well enough so the quarterbacks were often unable to find any open targets.
Starting quarterback Chuck Clements completed 10-of-32 passes for 157 yards with one touchdown pass, a 31-yard toss to wide receiver Jason deGroot.
The TD pass gave the White team its first lead, 25-21, after the extra point.
"I know if you get open, Chuck (Clements) will get you the football," Helton said.
The defensive White team earned a point for each punt forced and two points for each turnover forced.
Six of the white team's points came from turnovers with the other 18 coming off of defensive stops.
The defense blitzed much of the day, forcing two interceptions and a turnover, as well as only 184 running yards on 62 attempts.
Tailback Jay McGuire led all backs with 64 yards on 15 attempts, and Antowain Smith had the only running touchdown.
"(The offensive line) had dominated until Wednesday and today," Helton said.
Defensively, linebacker Chad Shaw had a strong outing with eight tackles to lead the defense.
"I noticed Rusty Foster," Helton said. The defensive end had four tackles, forced a fumble and sacked the quarterback twice.
Walk-on cornerback Edwin Sai had two interceptions at the expense of Kim Helton's son, back-up quarterback Tyson Helton.
"I thought we played hard and we played well, with the exception of a few big plays," defensive coordinator Jean Smith said. "We were trying to blitz a little more, but you got to have everyone covering everyone."
Even though the Cougars were playing themselves, the officials still managed to get booed on several occasions, particularly on a few no-calls for a pass interference.
"The only thing that remained consistent is the (Southwest Conference) officiating," Helton said.